By Taylor Freeman

Hurricane season this year is hitting the world hard. The last time the world has seen a storm as large and devastating as Hurricane Irma, was Katrina, in 2005; both Katrina and Irma  reaching Category 5.  Irma’s winds were 10 mph faster than Katrina’s, topping off at 185 mph, or 295 km/h. Compared to Katrina, which caused between 1,245 and 1,836 fatalities, Irma hardly reached 100. Following close behind Irma, Jose started to make his way towards the already destroyed Islands. Fortunately he strayed north, but only to reveal a new threat, Maria. At the time of writing, Maria is, according to CNN, “the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in Dominica.” After devastating Dominica, Maria started to make her way towards the already demolished Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, which haven’t seen a Category 4 or 5 in nearly 85 years.

The devastation that these storms bring is, ironically, the thing that brings us together. The world pauses its political squabbles to come together in the case of disaster. People offer to house those who have lost their own, centers and hotels offer food and shelter while the storm passes, and civilians go out of their way to assist where they might be needed most.

In fact, our own Hannaford supermarket chain has stepped up to help. Hannaford not only provides victims with donated food, but right now, if people donate up to $50,000, it will match that donation. That is $100,000 towards rebuilding the billions of damage caused by hurricanes Irma, Jose, and Maria.

The people who live up here in Maine don’t normally have to worry about rebuilding their home or wondering how their car got into their neighbor’s living room. Up here it may feel like we don’t have a way to contribute to those affected by these devastating storms. But by donating to Hannaford, and many other places, people can help no matter where they are in the world.